From Keene Ice in Keene, NH – January 2, 2019:
It’s a new year, and the Grizzlies made the long trip over some rather large hills to play at Keene, looking for a new result. Goffstown hadn’t beaten Keene in a hockey game since a 3-2 win at home on January 17, 2015. As a matter of fact, the Black Birds had won five straight against Goffstown, and by a lopsided total score of 27-7.
It was a great week. It was a record breaking week. It was a really fun week. It was Christmas week.
From J.F.K. Coliseum in Manchester, NH, December 29, 2018:
There is a team in Division II hockey that has compiled 36 regular season victories over the last 3 seasons. Yet, nobody counts them anything but usually out. They played Division I powerhouse, Bedford on Saturday afternoon at JFK Coliseum in Manchester for the title at the Brian C. Stone Memorial Christmas Hockey Tournament.
From J.F.K. Coliseum in Manchester, NH, December 28, 2018:
Goffstown played their third and final game of the round-robin section of the tournament on Friday afternoon, against Manchester Central/West. The Grizzlies were looking to go undefeated in their three tournament games for the first time in their history of playing in the Manchester Christmas Tournament (Brian C. Stone Memorial Christmas Tournament as of this year).
From J.F.K. Coliseum in Manchester, NH, December 27, 2018:
It was nice to show up to the rink and have the honor of listening to our National Anthem sung before the game. Being the first game of the day, the Anthem was played. The Bow Falcons and Goffstown Grizzlies, each entered the day with a 1-0 record in the tournament.
From J.F.K. Coliseum in Manchester, NH:
After Concord shutout Hanover 2-0, in the Brian C. Stone Memorial Christmas Hockey Tournament opener, the second game, between Goffstown and Manchester Memorial started slowly. Well sort of.
From James F. Campion Arena in West Lebanon, NH – December 19, 2018:
Goffstown went to Lebanon for their third road game in their first four games of the 2018-2019 campaign and earned a convincing 6-3 victory.
From Sullivan Arena in Goffstown, NH – December 15, 2018:
For the second game in a row, there was a pre-game tribute of sorts to someone who has been taken too early from this earth. I was asked to lead the moment from the booth, which I had no problem with. When I asked for some direction on what to say, or in what order, etc. I was told, “just wing it”.
From West Side Arena in Manchester – December 12, 2018
As I sat down to write this recap, I literally removed my baseball cap and sat in silence for 22 seconds to honor Hunter Burke and the Burke family as I had done with the crowd at West Side Arena yesterday afternoon.
From the Whittemore Center on the campus of UNH – December 10, 2018
On Monday night the Goffstown Grizzlies made their annual trip out to the spacious confines of the Whittemore Center to play the Oyster River Bobcats. In this opponent, the Grizzlies know that Oyster River is well coached, and usually structurally sound. The second period showed just that.
The media covered it all. Social media has shared it, posted it, messaged about it, commented on it, and talked up one side and down the other about the game. The community showed up. Little leaguers dreamt. Players past and future all ached for a big hit. Students were noticeably immense. Parents glowed, they wished the pain to carry, then they returned from the glorious trip’s end. Coaches planned, paced, and in the end tipped their caps. Town sports. Team sports. Competition. Ultimately, it was all about the kids. As it should be.
It was three weeks ago now, and in my mind, it went something a little bit like this. As the maestro held his baton high, coercing the grand finale in all of its glory, the final note played. Somewhere between stunned and proud, the maestro bowed his head and turned to face the masses and the feedback they levied on this collective piece of work. And those who witnessed it, they rose in unison to honor the performance and wished it never had to end.
Goffstown dug themselves a huge hole, falling behind 5-0 in the second period, while Dover was dictating play by simply executing better than the Grizzlies. Goffstown reached down, found some collective fire within, and came storming back. With less than 10 minutes to play in the game, the game had turned into an intense, nail-biting, one-goal, tournament game with the Grizzlies trailing Dover, 5-4.
Well, folks, the prelims are done. #8 Oyster River overcame a 2-0 deficit and came back to beat #9 Merrimack, 5-2. #7 Kingswood fell behind #10 Portsmouth-Newmarket, tied the game in the 3rd, and won…
Goffstown ended their spectacular regular season in Salem against a very strong Windham Jaguars team on Saturday night. Despite dropping their final two contests, the Grizzlies did win 14 games in the regular season for the first time in their program’s history. Windham jumped out to a 4-0 lead and the hole was too deep for the Grizzlies to climb out of and overcome, but that’s not the whole story.
One of the beauties of sport is that competition brings opportunity where something has to give. People can talk, stats, results, and personnel can be compared on paper, but in truth, it’s only after having contested in the sport that we really know. Last night out at Keene Ice, the Keene Blackbirds hosted the Goffstown Grizzlies on Keene’s Senior Night. It was NH Hockey’s Division II #1 vs. #2 in a last week of the season matchup. Something had to give.
Last night on the hilltop, as some say, the Grizzlies hosted their final regular season hockey game of the 2017-18 season. It was also Senior Night, a chance to recognize Goffstown’s 5 seniors on this year’s varsity squad. The opponent was Merrimack, a team that these senior’s had never beaten (0-4) coming into their final regular season home game.
The Goffstown Grizzlies hockey team played host to the Alvirne Broncos last night at St. Anselm College. On paper, the standings and previous results pointed to this as a blowout type game, dare say, and easy win for the Grizzlies. See Alvirne entered play with a record of three wins and twelve losses, while Goffstown entered play with twelve wins and two losses. In the end, the Grizzlies prevailed by a score of 10-6, but there were a few different sides to this story.
Last night the Grizzlies returned to the ice for their first game since February 3rd, as their showdown out at Keene was postponed by snow on February 7th. The Red Raiders from Belmont-Gilford came calling in what promised to be a competitive affair. These two teams have played some pretty good games over the last two seasons, with Goffstown escaping with a 7-6 win two years ago, and then the Grizzlies snagged a 5-3 win last year. This season though, caught a red-hot Goffstown team against a Belmont-Gilford team that just doesn’t have the horses they have had in recent years. The Red Raiders came in to the game having won four in a row, and had posted 36 goals in their last 6 games.
This afternoon the Grizzlies of Goffstown hosted the Oyster River Bobcats at Sullivan Arena for a rematch from a game they played way back before Christmas. Goffstown lost 4-2 at the Whittemore Center the first time they played. But then, the last five meetings, including the earlier contest this season, have not been great ones for the Grizzlies.
After losing a league game for the first time since before Christmas, everyone was wondering exactly how the Goffstown Grizzlies team would respond in their next game. Many folks in town hoped that the loss out at Kingswood on Saturday night would be a good learning experience for the team and serve as an in-season opportunity to self-correct their course.
Folks the hockey season is well into mid-season, and one of our favorite nights of the entire year is approaching. The single biggest fundraiser for the Friends of Goffstown Hockey and the hockey program. Please make a note, save the date, and plan on attending on February 10th. Good food. Good friends. Lots of laughs. Good cause. Join us!
Perhaps there are times in sports, even in everyday life, when we make mistakes but never really pay for them. Or at least we pay no more than the cost of listening to the taunting of our conscience and its innermost voice. Then, of course, there are times when our mistakes lead to immediate consequence and even seem to be plastered on a larger than life wide-screen for everyone to see.
Sometimes it’s difficult to remember that these high school hockey players are teenagers and that not every night is their best night. It’s also hard to forget previous teams, results, trends, and simple to get caught up in the numbers of all things tracked. Last season the Saints from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Dover, NH ended the Grizzlies hockey season with a 4-3 win in the NHIAA Tournament Quarter Final round.
New Hampshire Union Leader 01-22-18 D02_3 Hockey Night In Boston Power Rankings
It’s not every night in NHIAA Hockey where both the home team and the visiting team arrive to the rink, and then leave the rink in school buses. But then again, Goffstown High School (Goffstown, NH) traveled to play Winnacunnet High School (Hampton, NH) in Haverhill, MA, naturally. As if this wasn’t odd enough, the rest of the night kind of followed suit.
Some people, like professional commentators for instance, might say that tonight’s game against Nashua South Pelham was somewhat of a trap game. It would be sort of like the Grizzlies who finished Saturday’s game on a tidal wave of emotional momentum against a rival in Dover, playing a Division I team who is only 1-3 and not regarded as a real threat in the standings. Thus the potential let down, or “trap” game.
From Sullivan Arena on the campus of St. Anselm College, Goffstown, NH –
After sitting here looking at my screen for several minutes, literally not knowing where to start, I guess I will start. In an 8 day span that started last Saturday with weather that was too cold for buses, the Grizzlies won in Nashua, Dover upset unbeaten Windham, Oyster River lost twice, Keene won three times, and St. Thomas improved to 7-0. Then to cap it off, Goffstown beat Dover 8-5 and ran their record to 6-1 on the season.
From the Conway Arena in Nashua, NH –
In an attempt to see the glass as half full, it was a throwback to younger days, with our three youngest in the van, my wife and I, all going to a road hockey game. The glass may well have been half full, and maybe the water was completely frozen but it’s January in New Hampshire, what else would you expect?
From the Rochester Ice Arena in Rochester, NH –
Last night out in Rochester I walked, or slid, or skated, and might have completed an inadvertent toe loop as I made my way through the maze of mayhem in the frozen area formerly known as a parking lot. I finally made it to the entrance and walked into the old building on Lowell Street just in time to see Somersworth-Coe Brown wrap up their 11-2 win over Laconia-Winnisquam, getting their first win of the season, in Division III action. By the time the ice was resurfaced and introductions were done, Goffstown and Spaulding faced off at just about 8:10pm.
From J.F.K. Coliseum in Manchester, NH:
Goffstown played their third and final game of the Christmas Hockey Classic Tournament in Manchester on Thursday night against the defending Division II State Champion Bow Falcons. The Falcons are not what they were last year, but neither are a lot of teams. Goffstown pounded the puck at the net out shooting Bow 48-18 en route to their 6-2 victory.
From J.F.K. Coliseum in Manchester, NH:
Undefeated Hanover remained unbeaten with a 5-1 win over Goffstown this afternoon in the Christmas Hockey Classic game at 2:00 pm. Hanover scored each of their five goals with 3:16 or less to play in that period. These goals made matters seem worse, especially for a Grizzlies team that generated a lot of great chances, but could not cash in, only to give up goals late in periods. The Hanover High Marauders are a very well coached team, and just about everything they do, is done with purpose and within a structure that they are all well versed in.
From J.F.K. Coliseum in Manchester, NH:
Goffstown kicked off the Christmas Hockey Classic Tournament at 4:00pm against one of the Division-I favorites to win the title, in the Crimson Tide of Concord. The scoreboard ended up showing a rather lopsided score, with Concord winning, 6-1. The score didn’t completely tell the story of this game, but make no mistake, Concord is really good. Every line, every pairing, they all seem to be pretty good. Goffstown did get some good chances to score in the game, which included 4 power play chances, and the CBC line generated several opportunities on their own. On the other hand, the Grizzlies committed a couple of egregious turnovers, got beat as a result of some lazy defense, and gave up some goals that they probably wish they could take back.